The Faithful Spy

by Jeffrey Layton

  The target was barely noticeable on the left side of the digital plot, about three inches from the solid black line that represented the centerline of the track. It started as a slight smudge indicating a bottom depression. Clark scrutinized the screen in detail.

  “What the hell?” he muttered.

  The shadow area expanded as the Titan continued southward.

  “Steve, wake up!”

  Osberg looked up, eyes open. “What?”

  “We’ve got something here.” He turned the laptop toward the CIA officer.

  Osberg scooted across the bench seat to view the screen. “What do you have?”

  Captain Clark pointed to the monitor. “That shadow—it’s a depression on the bottom, a couple meters deep.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  “I’ve seen these before. Something big grounded out here and left a hole in the bottom.”

  “How big?”

  Clark punched a key on the laptop, freezing the image. He accessed a software tool to measure the length of the target. “The main depression is roughly 120 meters long.”

  Osberg was now fully awake. “What was the length of the sub?”

  “About 110 meters.”

  “Son of a bitch—Newman was right!”

  Chapter 70

  Day 38—Tuesday

  Supervisory Special Agent Ava Diesen walked into the conference room at the FBI’s Seattle Field Office at 8:05 A.M. She greeted the two men already seated at the table. “Good morning, gentlemen.”

  “Morning,” Robert Clark said. He wore civilian garb. CIA counterintelligence officer Steve Osberg smiled.

  “You guys must be tired—on that boat all weekend and then Keyport. What time did you get back to Seattle?”

  “We arrived at the hotel around ten last night—not too bad,” Clark reported.

  Ava spent the weekend visiting with her Boeing engineer brother and his family in Woodinville, an affluent suburb east of Seattle. While catching up with her sibling, she kept a close eye on the Yuri Kirov case. She also spent Monday in the Seattle Field Office prepping for the upcoming Newman interview.

  “Well, thanks for coming in this morning.”

  “No problem.”

  Ava chose a chair across the table from the visitors. After placing a file folder on the tabletop, she said, “As you know, Laura Newman and her attorney are scheduled for a follow-up interview this afternoon. I’d like your help in preparing for it.” Ava opened the folder and removed a document marked Secret. She faced Clark. “Captain, I reviewed the summary of the field operations you emailed me. It appears that what was uncovered agrees with Ms. Newman’s account of what occurred. Is my understanding correct?”

  Clark planted his elbows on the table. “As far-fetched as her story appeared when I first heard it, the evidence we recovered suggests that she’s been truthful.”

  Ava remained skeptical, partly due to her training, but also because of the sheer boldness of Laura Newman’s tale.

  Captain Clark reached down to remove a document from his briefcase. He passed a color print across the table. “This is a screenshot from one of the sidescan sonar images of the bottom offshore of Point Roberts.”

  Ava stared at the image. “What am I looking at?”

  Clark pointed. “This dark area is a depression in the bottom, about two meters deep. The submarine could have settled into the soft bottom muck at that location after sinking—just as Newman said.” Clark passed another photograph. “We found this item a hundred meters away from the depression.”

  Ava examined the photo—a box-like device with a metal frame and internal cylinders. “What is it?”

  “An ROV—remotely operated vehicle.”

  “The underwater robot she mentioned?”

  “Yes.”

  “Hmmm,” Ava muttered. She turned the photo toward Clark and pointed to a thin yellowish cable that trailed away from the ROV. “What is this thing?”

  “It’s a remnant of the tether that provided electrical power and communications to the ROV.” Clark again reached into his briefcase and removed a foot-long length of canary-yellow cable. “Here’s a specimen of the tether that was recovered with the ROV.”

  Ava examined the pencil-diameter specimen. “I need to retain this.”

  “It’s yours.”

  Ava placed the cable on the table. “Where is the ROV now?”

  “It’s being examined at Keyport.”

  “It’s evidence. We’ll need it back here, too.”

  “Understand, I’ll take care of it.”

  “Good, anything else?”

  “We searched about a thousand meters around the depression, looking for the body of the Russian diver Newman mentioned but didn’t find it.”

  “So, she’s lying about that?”

  “Not necessarily. Bottom currents are strong. They could easily have transported the corpse out of the search area.” Clark hesitated as he extracted another photograph from the folder. “We did find something else during that effort.”

  He passed the new photo to Ava. She peered at the jumble of metal parts and turned a questioning gaze toward the naval officer.

  “I know it’s a mess,” Clark said. “I didn’t know what it was either. But like the ROV, we were able to recover it and it was also sent to Keyport. They examined the debris yesterday but could not identify its source. In that process, however, Cyrillic lettering was discovered on one of the parts.”

  “I don’t remember reading that in your summary.”

  “They found it after I sent you the report.” Clark turned toward Osberg. “When our people couldn’t ID the part, I asked the CIA for help. Go ahead, Steve.”

  “We ran a trace on the number recovered from the debris and received a report back a couple hours ago via secure email.” Osberg produced a document and handed it to Ava. “This diagram is from a manual for a Russian rocket torpedo called the Shkval. The serial number matches the rocket motor for a heavyweight version of the weapon.”

  “It’s Russian?”

  “No question.”

  “My God,” Ava said, astonished. “Is this what caused the sub to sink?”

  “The weapon appears to have exploded. If that happened inside the tube, it could have easily sent the boat to the bottom.”

  “Newman really is telling the truth!”

  “That’s not all,” offered Clark.

  “What?” Ava’s brow wrinkled.

  “While we were on the boat, Steve’s people obtained archived radar data from the U.S. Coast Guard’s vessel tracking system for Puget Sound along with data mined from AIS.”

  “What’s that?”

  “AIS—Automatic Identification System for monitoring marine traffic. Large yachts and commercial vessels are required to carry a transponder that transmits the ship’s GPS location.”

  “Okay.”

  Osberg took over. “Using the combined data, we were able to reconstruct the route the Yangzi took when it departed Seattle with Newman and her child aboard—as she claimed.” He paused to unroll an oversized document. “This is a navigation chart of Admiralty Inlet. The red line is the course of the Yangzi.” He tapped the chart with his index finger. “The superyacht loitered here for almost twenty minutes very early in the morning.”

  Ava riffled through a folder. She retrieved a document and unfolded it. The poster-size sheet was a copy of the same NOAA chart that Osberg displayed, except that it contained Laura Newman’s estimate of where the torpedo mine was placed on the seabed.

  Ava placed the chart from her file next to Osberg’s. “They’re almost the same location.”

  “Exactly, just as Newman said.”

  “Then they really tried to sink that Trident sub?”

  “It appears so,” Captain Clark said. “I checked wi
th Kitsap-Bangor and confirmed that the USS Kentucky sailed within half a mile of this location, again just as Newman said.”

  Ava remembered more of Laura’s statement. “She said the Chinese used a concrete block to anchor the mine to the bottom.”

  “That’s right. We made a quick side scan sonar pass through that area on our way up to the Strait of Georgia but didn’t spot anything. However, with this new information we’re going to check it again. I have a team from Bangor on the way this morning. As soon as we finish here, Steve and I are going to hitch a ride on a Coast Guard swift boat and head north to join the survey crew.”

  “And if you find this concrete block?”

  Clark smiled. “The United States Navy will owe Newman and Kirov one hell of a thank you.”

  Chapter 71

  Laura Newman occupied the hot seat again. She and attorney Tim Reveley sat inside the same conference room of the FBI’s Seattle Field Office used during her second interview. It was 1:35 P.M. Ava Diesen sat on the opposite side of the table. The FBI Supervisory Special Agent would conduct the interview solo today. Special Agent Michaela Taylor attended to another pressing matter—a new terror threat to the Pacific Northwest.

  The preliminaries concluded, Ava commenced the meeting. “Ms. Newman, this is a reminder that you remain under oath.”

  “I understand.”

  “Good. I’d like to revisit your earlier statements regarding your abduction and the time you spent aboard the yacht.”

  “Okay.”

  Ava glanced at her notes. “You indicated the owner of the Yangzi was a Hong Kong businessman by the name of Kwan Chi.”

  “That’s what Yuri told me.”

  “And how would he know?”

  “Nick found out.”

  “Nick—you mean Nikolai Orlov from the Russian consulate in Houston?”

  “Yes, but at the time he was in San Francisco.”

  “You are aware that Orlov is an intelligence officer for the SVR?”

  “Yes. And he’s also a friend. He saved my life and Yuri’s too.”

  “But he’s still a foreign agent.”

  “I know.” Laura turned away, butterflies taking flight in her belly.

  Ava continued. “When you were aboard the Yangzi, what interaction did you have with the Russian operative you identified as Elena Krestyanova?”

  Laura responded with a puzzled gaze. “She visited me a couple times when I was confined.”

  “To do what?”

  “Negotiate with Yuri for my release.”

  “Negotiate on behalf of whom?”

  Laura grimaced, frustrated. “Kwan Chi… China I guess. Yuri and Nick both said Elena was working for the Chinese government.”

  “Ms. Krestyanova is the same person you were involved with regarding the Neva?”

  “Yes.”

  “You identified her as a Russian intelligence agent during that time?”

  “That’s right.”

  “But now you claim she works for the People’s Republic of China. Which one is it?”

  Laura sensed a trap. “Both. Yuri told me that Elena was ‘turned’ by the Chinese—I think that’s the term he used. Anyway, she was helping Kwan Chi.”

  “Was she involved with obtaining the torpedo you claimed that Mr. Kirov recovered from the seabed?” Ava handed Laura a copy of the Mark Twelve photo that Reveley had produced in their earlier interview.

  “I don’t know anything about how they acquired the thing. Neither did Yuri or Nick.”

  Diesen moved on. “Have you had any recent contact with Ms. Krestyanova?”

  “The last time I saw her was when she left the Yangzi. Nick sent her ashore for treatment of a gunshot wound.”

  “Nothing after that?”

  “That’s right.”

  “So, you have no knowledge of her current whereabouts.”

  “Correct.”

  The interview continued for another forty minutes. Ava Diesen probed. Laura responded. And Tim Reveley observed.

  Diesen was about to start another round of questions when a secretary entered the room and handed a note to Ava. She said, “Let’s take a ten-minute break. I need to take a quick call.”

  * * * *

  Ava took the call in a vacant office. It was Robert Clark.

  “Hang on to your hat, Agent Diesen. We found the concrete anchor block.”

  “Really!”

  “Spotted it on sidescan and just sent an ROV down for positive ID. It’s really there.”

  “Wow.”

  “We’re in the process of recovering the block. Should have it aboard the workboat within an hour.”

  “Remember, it’s evidence.”

  “We’ll get it to you.”

  “Thanks for letting me know.”

  “What happens now—with Newman?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  * * * *

  Ava Diesen returned to the conference room. She picked up the photograph of the Mark Twelve from the tabletop. The black steel casing housing the Russian torpedo mine looked like a utility pipe. About two and half feet in diameter and over twenty feet long, it occupied deck space in the Yangzi’s cargo compartment normally reserved for a thirty-foot tender. Detailed analysis of the photo by FBI technicians verified it was legitimate—no tampering. The fact that the image included Laura added authenticity.

  Holding up the photo, Diesen said, “After you and Kirov recovered this device from the seabed, how did you get it aboard the yacht?”

  “Yuri and Nick used an internal crane system to pick it up.”

  “The system used to retrieve boats?”

  “Yes. There were other boats in the garage—that’s what they called that part of the boat.”

  “So, when you evacuated from the Yangzi, this is how you remembered the Mark Twelve?”

  “Yes, it was sitting in the cradle when Nick and I left in the runabout.”

  “And the other watercraft…” Ava paused to check her notes after placing the photo on the table. “The underwater vehicle your company built—the Deep Adventurer—where was it when you left?”

  “It was still in the water, tied up next to the boat.”

  Agent Diesen switched gears. “Ms. Newman, you must realize that your story is quite fantastic.”

  “But it’s true! Everything I told you happened.” Laura gripped her hands to suppress the tremors.

  Diesen noticed but continued the attack. “The fact that you openly admitted to assisting a foreign agent—a spy—in the recovery of a submarine conducting espionage operations against the United States is—”

  “But Yuri told me it was in Canada,” interrupted Laura. “Not the U.S. All I wanted to do was save the men who were marooned.”

  “You could have turned him in.”

  “He held me hostage.”

  “You said he released you. What about then?”

  “He told me that if our government tried to rescue the crew, they had orders to self-destruct.”

  “And you believed that?”

  “Yes.”

  Diesen prepared for the final assault. She again picked up the photo of the Mark Twelve. “Other than this photograph, you have provided no solid evidence confirming your story about what happened to the Yangzi. I believe you are not being truthful and that you have willingly participated in espionage against the United States.”

  “No. That’s not true!” Laura’s eyes teared up. She sank into her chair, defeated.

  Tim Reveley came to her defense. “Agent Diesen, we understand the optics of the situation. We encourage you to conduct field investigations both offshore of Point Roberts and in Admiralty Inlet to collect evidence that will validate my client’s claims.”

  Diesen kept her poker face, waiting to see what, if anything
, Reveley would offer.

  Tim retrieved his briefcase from the floor. He opened the leather case and removed a large Ziploc plastic bag.

  Reveley held up the bag. “We do have additional evidence. There are three phones inside. Two cells and one satphone. One of the cells is Elena Krestyanova’s. The others belong to Kwan Chi. They were recovered by Mr. Kirov while aboard the Yangzi. We believe that forensic analysis of these devices will validate Ms. Newman’s testimony regarding her abduction and subsequent actions.”

  Bingo! Ava thought. She had sensed from early on that Laura Newman had a trump card to play. Now here it was.

  Chapter 72

  Laura lay stretched out on the deck recliner. It was half past five in the afternoon and still in the mid-eighties. She gazed westward at the dozens of boats rushing across the lake surface in the distance; the drone of one high-powered V-8 drowned out the others. Just a few feet away, Madelyn Grace crawled around her playpen. An oversized deck umbrella shaded both mother and daughter from the sun. Laura wore a sleeveless blouse and pleated shorts. After finishing the interview with the FBI, Laura elected to drive home rather than stopping at the office. Amanda had left half an hour earlier for a dinner date with her boyfriend.

  Laura still reeled from the interrogation. Special Agent Ava Diesen was tough to read. When the interview ended, Diesen offered nothing to indicate what would come next. Tim Reveley speculated that it might be a week or more before they heard back from the FBI. It could take that long to run forensic tests on the phones, especially with their encryption software.

  The only positive outcome from today’s meeting was Diesen’s acknowledgement that Laura’s home and business would remain under surveillance to circumvent a follow-up attack by MSS operatives. Diesen provided no details, only saying that agents were monitoring both venues. Laura assumed it was a self-serving benefit offered by the FBI. The Chinese threat was possible but Laura suspected that the principal purpose of the federal protection was to trap Yuri.

  To supplement whatever the feds were doing, Laura contracted with a private security firm to provide a two-person armed detail at night. The team arrived around ten in the evening and patrolled the grounds until six in the morning. If Yuri were home, Laura wouldn’t worry about security, knowing he would protect her and Maddy. But until then she would remain vigilant.